The James Webb space telescope, considered the Hubble’s successor, will stay on the ground an extra day due to high winds
Dangerously high winds will keep Nasa’s newest space telescope on the ground for at least an extra day, with the launch now targeted for Saturday – Christmas Day – at the earliest.
Nasa announced the latest delay Tuesday. Upper-level high wind could force a rocket off-course or even damage or destroy it.
Continue reading...Half a million phones received emergency alerts thanks to system offering a few seconds to take cover
In the moments before a 6.2-magnitude earthquake struck the northern California coast on Monday, roughly half a million phones began to buzz. An early-alert system managed by the US Geological Survey sent warnings out before the ground started to shake, giving residents in the sparsely populated area vital time to take cover.
The earthquake brought significant shaking but minimal damage in Humboldt county, about 210 miles north-west of San Francisco, and officials said it was an excellent test of the alert-system. It was the largest magnitude quake that’s occurred since the system, known as ShakeAlert, was officially rolled out across the west coast.
Continue reading...Scott Perry is first sitting member of Congress to get request for interview as Trump announces 6 January press conference
Scott Perry, a Pennsylvania Republican and the first sitting member of Congress to be requested to provide documents and sit for an interview with the committee investigating the Capitol riot, said on Tuesday he would not comply with the panel.
The news came shortly after Donald Trump provocatively announced that he will hold a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago resort on 6 January, the first anniversary of the deadly attack on Congress.
Continue reading...Jurors requested transcripts of testimony on Tuesday morning after deliberations began late on Monday
The jury in Ghislaine Maxwell’s sex-trafficking trial asked on Tuesday to review transcripts of testimony from three accusers.
Jurors in Manhattan federal court sent the judge a note around 10.10am, saying: “We would like the transcripts, testimony of Jane, Annie and Carolyn.”
Information and support for anyone affected by rape or sexual abuse issues is available from the following organisations. In the US, Rainn offers support on 800-656-4673. In the UK, Rape Crisis offers support on 0808 802 9999. In Australia, support is available at 1800Respect (1800 737 732). Other international helplines can be found at ibiblio.org/rcip/internl.html
Continue reading...Portugal tells people to work from home from 26 December; Sweden announces working from home and tighter social distancing rules
Singapore has detected a cluster of three Covid-19 cases linked to a gym, its ministry of health said late on Monday.
The variant was found in two men, aged 24 and 21, and an 18-year-old woman.
On Monday morning, a mid-level staff member, who does not regularly have contact with the President, received a positive result for a Covid-19 test.
Three days earlier, on Friday, that staff member had spent approximately 30 minutes in proximity to the President on Air Force One, on the way from Orangeburg, South Carolina to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Continue reading...Workers went on strike and pushed union drives in record numbers after corporations made giant pandemic profits
In 2021 workers appear to have had enough.
Amid constant claims from some industries of labor shortages as the economy recovers from Covid-19 shutdowns, workers have been pushing employers and elected officials to raise wages, improve working conditions and benefits such as paid sick leave through walkouts, protests, rallies and strikes.
Continue reading...Statement came as CBS said Noth will no longer be part The Equalizer ‘effective immediately’ following allegations by two women
The leads of Sex and the City’s recent reboot And Just Like That have responded to sexual assault allegations made by two women against their fellow castmate, Chris Noth.
Cynthia Nixon – who plays Miranda in the series and its reboot – shared a statement on social media, signed by herself, Sarah Jessica Parker (Carrie) and Kristin Davis (Charlotte).
Continue reading...Prosecutors say Maxwell, who has pleaded not guilty to all charges, manipulated victims and groomed them for sexual abuse
The jury began deliberating late on Monday afternoon in Ghislaine Maxwell’s sex-trafficking trial in New York.
Closing arguments had wrapped up in federal court in Manhattan earlier on Monday with a simple, chilling message.
Continue reading...Leaders of the sport criticize the Harry Potter creator’s trans views as leagues also cite trademark issues
Harry Potter’s favorite sport, quidditch, is to receive a new name in the US, in part because its leaders are critical of the controversial views of the fictional wizard’s creator JK Rowling, which the US leagues have called “anti-trans”.
Two leagues that operate the sport in the US also cite trademark issues for their decision for the rebranding.
Continue reading...Bangkok considering reinstating mandatory quarantine due to spread of Omicron; EU’s drug regulator will decide on whether to approve Novavax
Thailand’s public health minister said on Monday that his ministry will propose reinstating mandatory quarantine for foreign visitors due to concerns over the spread of the Omicron variant.
The proposal would scrap the current quarantine waiver for vaccinated visitors and revert to hotel quarantine and the “sandbox” programme, which allows free movement within a specific location, Anutin Charnvirakul told the Inside Thailand television show.
Continue reading...Flurry of revelations raises prospect that the committee may be heading towards an incriminating conclusion. Plus, the weirdest stories of 2021
Good morning.
Donald Trump is increasingly agitated by the House select committee investigating the Capitol attack, according to sources familiar with the matter, and appears anxious that he could be implicated in the sprawling inquiry into the insurrection even as he protests his innocence.
Adam Kinzinger, one of two Republicans on the 6 January committee, said he was not yet ready to declare the former president guilty of a crime, but that the panel was investigating the likelihood that he is.
The US is “closer to civil war than any of us would like to believe”, a member of a key CIA advisory panel has said. The analysis by Barbara F Walter, a political science professor, is contained in a book due out next year.
Doug Ericksen, a staunch conservative Washington state senator and an outspoken critic of Covid-19 pandemic emergency orders, has died aged 52. His death comes weeks after he tested positive for coronavirus, though his cause of death wasn’t immediately released.
The US senators Elizabeth Warren and Cory Booker have confirmed they have tested positive for Covid-19. Both reported having mild symptoms.
Continue reading...Barak Ravid has written a fascinating account of four chaotic years in which some progress was nonetheless made
Trump’s Peace is a blockbuster of a book. Barak Ravid captures the 45th president saying “Fuck him” to Benjamin Netanyahu and reducing American Jews to antisemitic caricatures. Imagine the Republican reaction if Barack Obama had done that. Sean Hannity, Tucker Carlson and Laura Ingraham would plotz. But Trump? Crickets.
Ravid also delivers a mesmerizing tick-tock of the making of the Abraham Accords, the normalization of Israel’s relations with four non-neighboring Arab states.
Continue reading...The bill, yet to be signed into law, would tighten rules around foreign ownership of media
Poles have staged nationwide protests including a thousands-strong rally outside the presidential palace to demand the head of state veto a law they say would limit media freedoms in the European Union’s largest eastern member.
Unexpectedly rushed through parliament on Friday, the legislation would tighten rules around foreign ownership of media, specifically affecting the ability of news channel TVN24, owned by US media company Discovery Inc, to operate.
Continue reading...The West Virginia senator Joe Manchin dealt a huge blow to Joe Biden on Sunday, saying “no” to the $1.75tn Build Back Better domestic spending plan. The White House issued a stinging rebuke in return, stoking a bitter war of words in a party sharply divided between moderates and progressives.
The White House accused Manchin of going back on his word.
Continue reading...The Omicron variant of Covid-19 has “extraordinary spreading capabilities”, the top US infectious diseases expert said on Sunday, and promises to bring a bleak winter as it continues “raging through the world”.
Dr Anthony Fauci’s warning came ahead of the busy holiday travel period, which he said would elevate the risk of infection even in vaccinated people.
Continue reading...Cult Los Angeles lyricist reportedly attacked by group of people at Once Upon a Time festival in his home city
Drakeo the Ruler, the critically acclaimed Los Angeles rapper, has died after a reported stabbing at a music festival. His press representative confirmed his death to the Guardian but did not give further details.
The 28-year-old, whose real name was Darrell Caldwell, had been scheduled to perform at the Once Upon a Time festival in Los Angeles. A source speaking to the LA Times said Caldwell had been attacked on the festival site by a group of people on Saturday evening. He was taken to hospital in a critical condition, where he later died.
Continue reading...Omicron surge leads to event cancellations and lines at testing sites but health system not yet under serious strain
New York state reported on Saturday that nearly 22,000 people tested positive for Covid-19 on Friday – eclipsing Thursday for the highest single-day total for new cases since testing became widely available. Amid fears over the new Omicron variant of the coronavirus, more than half of the positive results were in the city.
The Rockettes on Friday canceled remaining performances of the Radio City Christmas Spectacular, citing “increasing challenges from the pandemic”. Saturday Night Live taped without an audience and with reduced crew. Lines at some testing sites stretched around the block and at-home tests remained hard to find or pricier than usual.
Continue reading...Maxwell’s attorneys tried to replace her image of a privileged socialite with one of being a kind and generous employer
When Ghislaine Maxwell’s defense case started last Thursday, her team tried pulling off a near-impossible task – making the British socialite accused of sex trafficking seem likable.
Indeed, the first defense witness in Maxwell’s Manhattan federal court sex-trafficking trial, former assistant Cimberly Espinosa, described her ex-boss in glowing terms.
Continue reading...Voting rights activists say the country has not fully awakened to the threat
A dry run. A dress rehearsal. A practice coup. As the first anniversary of the 6 January insurrection at the US Capitol approaches, there is no shortage of warnings about the danger of a repeat by Republicans.
But even as Donald Trump loyalists lay siege to democracy with voting restrictions and attempts to take over the running of elections, there are fears that Democrats in Washington have not fully woken up to the threat.
Continue reading...Rats, a group that has been hunting rats with dogs in New York since 1995, is summoned to infested neighborhoods
This will come as no surprise to anyone but New York City has a rat problem.
Two million rats call the city home, thriving on the streets, in sewers, in both abandoned and un-abandoned buildings, in the parks, in the subways, in shoe stores and in restaurants.
Continue reading...